aims to link Jerusalem with the settlements located east and east of
north Jerusalem. This project means the control of the West Bank
lands, which, according to international laws and United Nations
resolutions, are considered occupied areas and it is not permissible to
bring about any changes with far-reaching implications. It is also not
permissible to transfer the citizens of the occupying country to the
occupied territories or to build settlements there.
The project, according to the Israeli plan, practically means
confiscating tens of thousands of dunams of areas in East Jerusalem.
Then building settlements in them and expanding the existing ones. It
also includes the construction of an infrastructure for settlements,
including streets, water and electricity networks, a large cemetery that
controls thousands of dunams, 10 hotels, and 4,000 industrial units.
In practice, this means controlling most of the lands owned by the
Palestinians, especially from the villages and towns located east of
Jerusalem, such as Al-Eizariya, Abu Dis, Hizma, Al-Tur, Anata. The most
dangerous thing is that these villages with this settlement belt are
isolated from their surroundings in the West Bank. They are currently
isolated by the wall from the city of Jerusalem to which these villages
and towns belong. As stated by Ghassan Daghlas, the official in charge
of the settlement file in the northern West Bank, “This is considered the
most dangerous in the settlement projects in the West Bank. In
addition to isolating and besieging these villages and confiscating their
lands, it will also lead to the dismemberment of the West Bank, north
and south.”
This project will lead to the displacement of 18 Palestinian
communities in the area, comprising three thousand citizens. They all
depend for their lives on agriculture, herding and raising animals. This
will lead to their transformation into refugees and displaced persons
and their relocation to other areas that do not fit the Bedouin lifestyle
based on agriculture and animal husbandry.
Atallah al-Jahalin, coordinator of the Popular Resistance
Committees in the assembly, said, "The deportation of the residents of
Jabal al-Baba is the beginning of the deportation of all communities in
East Jerusalem. It is an evacuation, demolition, and relocation for the
benefit of the largest and most dangerous settlement project in the
West Bank, known as E-ONE. It aims to link Jerusalem with the existing
settlements. East of the city, including Maale Adumim, near Jabal al-
Baba population.
It is true that the project is subject to widespread criticism and
condemnation in the international community, the United Nations, and
many European countries. However, the occupation authorities have
practically started implementing it on the ground for a long time,
gradually by building thousands of settlement units, and building the
infrastructure for this project, including electricity, water, and streets,
etc, and the confiscation of Palestinian lands in the region.
Al-Ezariya town may be among the Palestinian towns east
Jerusalem most affected and suffering as a result of this project as it
will lead to the displacement of many nearby communities that belong
to the town, which means more overcrowding and confiscation of the
town’s lands. Perhaps the clearest example in this regard is the
Palestinian community known as (Jabal al-Baba) in the east of the town,
which includes 57 families consisting of 320 citizens. In recent years,
this site has been subjected to demolition of 30 homes. At the end of
last year, everyone was given notices to vacate their house in order to
demolish it.
Al-Eizariya municipality sources added that this project will cause
great harm to the town, as lands are confiscated in the eastern region,
which means a reduction in the area of land and preventing the urban
and population development of the town. It will also lead to an
exacerbation of the overcrowding of the town, and the most dangerous
is its isolation from its surroundings and besieging it with existing and
emerging settlements and settlement streets . And cut off
communication between it and the rest of the areas in the West Bank.
It will simply lead to the creation of ghettos for it and for the rest of the
villages in the area.
Ultimately, it is part of the settlement project in the West Bank
which aims to control the land, build settlements, and settlement
industrial zones in the vicinity of Jerusalem. Attracting more settlers
and imposing deportation and displacement on the Palestinians in the
vicinity of Jerusalem in favor of implementing the largest project known
as (Greater Jerusalem). Which will lead to the separation of the north of
the West Bank from its south. Politically, it means preventing the
possibility of a two-state solution.
Written by Ahmad Jaradat – Alternative Information Center – Palestine